Love between Players

There was not one day of the seven days that passed that Leticia lost her guard as Dexter. She learned as much as she could from her uncle about Justin and found her minuscule ways of keeping her distance from him.

Today, being her official first day, she was supposed to accompany him to a boutique. And he had specifically asked her uncle not to follow them.

"Learning fast?" he asked her as they walked down a rail of black suits in a specific size—Justin's size.

"Yes, sir," Leticia answered, keeping it brief.

"Hmm. You'll accompany me to the changing room to help me smooth my suit and see which one fits better. It's what Welsh used to do."

She swallowed at his demand, yet gave him a strained smile that caused her cheeks to hurt. What a jerk! she thought, but she held her smile in place.

"Tell me something. Why did you leave your former company? What happened? Did you get fired? You know I didn't let you go through HR, so tell me the truth, Dexter. I do not like lies..."

"Yet you lie..." she cursed under her breath, loud enough for him to know that she said something but not loud enough for him to figure out her words.

"Say something?" he asked with a creased forehead.

"Nothing, sir. Errm..." She cleared her throat. "There was a little problem."

"With you? Did you steal?"

Her upper lip twitched, and she pursed it. "No, sir. I do not steal. My partner made a mistake with the application we created. He was in charge of security while I was solely in charge of the design. But he messed it up and..." She was getting heated, causing her feminine voice to surface at some point, earning a raised brow from Justin.

"You're saying it wasn't your fault. So why were you laid off?"

She was losing it. "Laid off? Yo, I wasn't!" She took a deep breath and continued, "I mean... I resigned, seeing how everyone looked at me awkwardly, like an idiot—especially when he ran away, moved to god-knows-where with his girlfriend."

Justin's face carried an amusement that aggravated her even further. "Right. Except I do not believe a word of what you've said."

"Well, f*** off!" she muttered very lowly. "It's the truth, sir. You can ask the company," she added politely.

He nodded. "Can you prepare breakfast?"

Leticia's mouth fell open in confusion. "I'm not sure I heard you right, sir."

"You did. Can you make breakfast? Can you cook? Can you make my bed? Can you clean?"

If Leticia wasn't Dexter right now, she would have called him out for his patriarchy, for disrespecting her just because she was a woman. But instead, she nodded with a stiff smile. It was one million a year—of course, she could bring herself to do all that. For him. Him, the man who did not want to see her after touching her.

Arrgh... She wanted to explode!

"Hmm... Welsh did that too. Have you read the contract? You get to travel with me whenever it's for business—even when it's not. You're going to be my shadow. I expect you to get things done."

If this was what her uncle had faced, he needed trophies and medals.

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm. Let's start now. What color do you think suits me?"

"Pink..." The words left her lips before she could stop herself. "I meant black, sir."

Justin fought the anger that threatened to erupt. He was finding this young man annoying. And for some wild reason, he enjoyed teasing him—almost making him feel like a bully.

"I'll be seated in that corner. When you're done picking what you think will suit me, bring it over. You'll help me dress."

He repeated it, almost as if he were trying to make her uncomfortable.

"Will do, sir!" she answered dramatically, jumping on her feet and making a beeline for the rack of suits adjacent to her, pretending to select what she thought looked good on him. Meanwhile, she adjusted her fake stubble that seemed to have shifted from the lower part of her chin.

For real, she started picking out suits. As many black suits as she could manage—three pieces, tuxedos, casual cuts. She kept going until her arms started to hurt, and the staff stationed at her rack started looking at her funny.

"I think that should do, sir. Mr. Justin doesn't buy that much," a staff of the boutique advised, earning a fake smile of appreciation from Leticia.

Justin waited calmly for Dexter, legs crossed, eyes glued to his phone as he considered calling Leticia's number again. He couldn't stop thinking about her and even entertained the stupid thought of Leticia being Dexter's girlfriend.

"That'd be messed up," he mumbled to himself, hating Dexter for no reason. If it hadn't been Welsh who recommended him, he'd have sent him away. The guy made him feel a little weird. Perhaps it was the thought of letting a new person into his life.

Dexter arrived with an armful of suits, the weight of them dragging him down. Justin shook his head at the pathetic picture. Did this little P.A. expect him to wear everything? What did he think this was—a runway show in Paris?

"I'm... I'm here, sir..." Leticia panted, sweating profusely from the weight of the clothes. "Here, sir. One to try."

Justin stood and tilted his head to the left, watching in disdain the three-piece suit handed to him, which was a very small size.

"Dexter. What is this? You come with a million clothes and can't even get one right? See? I knew it! I knew you were no good, but he said you were a first-class bla-bla-blah. You can't even get my size right!"

Leticia's mouth fell open, shame covering her like a heavy cloud. Before she knew it, she was beginning to feel frustrated to the point that her eyes were beginning to feel heavy. She couldn't cry. She had cried enough in her former company. She had cried enough as a child. She wouldn't cry now. She wouldn't give this man a reason to feel powerful over her.

"I'll try again, sir."

He held up a hand to stop her, his phone buzzing at that same second, giving Leticia a chance to catch her breath.

"Yes? Okay... We're coming."

We? Oh no. Leticia almost cried out, her arms sore from the clothes.

"Drop them on the shelf. I'll pay for damages. We're going to my family house for a meeting with the original CEO."

"The original..."

"You heard me. You'll jot things down. And do not say a word without being asked."

Leticia nodded, obeying him accordingly. Thank God she knew how to drive. As she expected, he put the address of their destination in the GPS and ordered her to follow it, while he sat in the back of the car and video-called one of his bimbos, who obviously touched herself for his pleasure.

"Nice. Shake that ass for daddy... Yeah, make it clap!"

"Oh yaaas, daddy... Is this how you like it?"

More than ever, Leticia wished she could teleport them to their destination. Justin disgusted her, and she couldn't thank him less for not going all the way with her. She wondered if Riley knew this part of him other than him being a gigolo. That part wasn't clear. How could a billionaire CEO be a gigolo?

One thing was certain, though: Justin was a woman magnet.

They reached an estate... Or a villa? Or a castle? Leticia could not explain what was before her, as the gargantuan gate before her opened to a stretch of magnificence, as if she had just driven into an enchanted kingdom in one of her fantasy novels.

"You look pale, Dexter. You've still got to drive around the fountain... Keep your eyes in front of you. And close your mouth."

She nodded overly dramatically, not sure what she would say if she was given the chance. She got to where the other extravagant cars were parked, parked there, and then rushed to open the car door for her boss.

That's when she saw it. Or rather, her worst and unbelievably real day-mare. It was Riley in front of her, dressed in the most luxuriously beautiful outfit, punching her boss on the arm.

"Hey!"

"And here he is. My brother—"

The world stopped. Her world stopped. Her body went cold and sore from what she thought she had just heard.